J. Paul Devlin

Infrared spectroscopy of hydrogen-bonded solids with emphasis on defect activity in ice and ice related systems with
recent focus on clathrate hydrates and their instant formation via an all-vapor method.

J. Paul Devlin is a professor (emeritus) of physical chemistry at Oklahoma State University. Though retired for 16 years, he continues an NSF-funded experimental program. He received a PhD from Kansas State University (1960), followed by postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota before joining the Oklahoma State University faculty. Early studies were with charge transfer organic systems, molten salts and the vapors over molten salts. These vapors were the basis for numerous matrix-isolation papers published throughout the 1970s that dealt with the stepwise solvation of ion pairs. Since the early 1980s his studies have focused on the nature of the surface of ice nanocrystals and the defect activity in ice and ice related systems with some emphasis on clathrate hydrates. He participated with Prof. Victoria Buch in lengthy studies of structure, defect activity and chemical reactivity of the ice surface. Most recently his group has developed a method of instant preparation of gas hydrates using a unique all-vapor process.